Hi Folks,

It is me.  For those of you that haven't read my previous posts, today I am 8 months and 22 days post op.  I have lost 103 lbs.

 

I also suffer from PCOS and have to watch carbs. One would say I am carb sensitive.  The surgery has really helped me lose weight but has NOT changed the ratio of FSH:LH, nor has it improved my bodies response to carbs.

For some of us, in addition to surgery, I think we really need to watch WHAT KIND OF FOOD we put in our mouths. Pre-op, I tried every diet known to man and ate a lot of carby WW and Lean Cuisines adn then would sit around hungry and wonder why I wasn't losing weight.

 

The vets here on the board talked a lot about eating carb forward and the honeymoon period. I figured my honeymoon would be around 8 months-1.5 years, so basically I got 8 months -1.5 years to lose all my excess weight. Make hay while the sun is shining.

I have been pretty strict with my diet (mean and non-starchy vegetables. No crackers, no bread (usually). I did eat a fold over sandwich for one meal a week just to see what would happen and I plateaued..the dietician assured me that that was not the cause...I didnt/dont really believe her).

 

Well, last week I really put the "no carbs" theory to the test.  I went out with a friend (guy) to a pizza place to catch up. Over a 6 hour period (yes..the waitress hated us) I had TWO pieces of pizza (NOT MONSTER SIZE) and 3 beers.

 

The next day I got up and weighed myself. I had GAINED 2 lbs!  Holy hell!  I am in the honeymoon period and I can gain 2 lbs in a night!?!?! THIS IS THE KIND OF HELL I EXPERIENCED PRE-OP.    I texted my friends to complain/whine/cry about this unfortunate event.  One kind person wrote back to ask if "I was ok" (i dont know if they meant ok because my complaining was over the top or they find it "not ok" to gain 2 lbs with 2 pieces of pizza and 3 beers).

One sweet friend declared i****er weight.  I assure you it is not.  I gained my weight "saturday night/sunday morning" and it took 4 days (and a lot of extra miles jogging) to get it off.

One guy at the patent office, was sympathetic and suggested it may be the type of carb I had. Basically, that evening out had a lot of wheat in it and he suggested that I read "Wheatbelly" which I am now doing.

I have a lot of disbelief/anger/scientific skepticism vs my personal experience to work through right now.

But for those of you that are pre-op and/or post-op and may have PCOS or hyper-insulin responses, I would suggest you listen to the advice of the vets and my own ancedotal (sp) story.  You have had surgery, had your intestines re-routed, and maybe things like carb (and maybe even especially wheat) are no longer in your future because the outcome they produce IN YOU may not be the outcome that YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF.

The response I want for myself is 142 lbs.  If ONE beer and pizza night is going to hold me for a week at 167-168, then I DONT WANT beer and pizza night.

Dont be afraid to test yourself, learn your bodies responses/limits, and maybe even say "I choose not to believe "the establishment" on this point because my personal experience has been different."

And this is just my random thoughts...

My guess is the beer.  Drinking causes weight gain.  Believe whatever helps you though.

I agree with Heidi but I would also say that it could be the salty pizza too. I doubt that your weight gain is anything more than water weight.

I bet that 2 pieces of pizza and 3 beers probably weigh about 2 pounds. 

I won't sweat it out if I were you... just hydrate well and continue watch your sodium intake ... I doubt it is real weight and more like fluid retention... 

My weight fluctuates like that. It does now and it did then - which is why I stayed off the scale except for Wednesdays.

I had a party last night and drank a little wine and ate some salty food and was up 2.6 pounds this morning. I weigh daily now in maintenance. I expected it. Lets me know I cannot string a bunch of days like that together.

Good for you for getting a handle on it and pressing on towards goal!!  You are quite right to maximize the honeymoon phase.

Before and since the surgery, any meals in restaurants result in no weight loss or a weight gain for a couple of days - due to the salt, I'm sure, because I watch the calories closely.

Weigh yourself in 2 or 3 days and see if the weight has gone. Good luck!

I also have PCOS and insulin resistance that is the reason why i had the surgery because the my insulin was through the roof i wasn't diabetic but i should have been with how high it was, I try to tell people the reason i got the surgery was to help stop the insulin resistance and the weight loss was an added bonus. I had my surgery Aug. 19th, 2014 so I am still fresh with learning things in 2 days i go to soft foods i am excited to be able to get more different foods.

Ok, some of the stuff I am reading on OH tonight is just making me want to scream.  This post is sort of the "last straw" for me biting my tongue.

There is no possible way that you can "assure" us that it is no****er weight.  Pizza is very high is sodium and beer is notorious for causing water retention!  It usually takes about 48 hours for your body to rid itself of excess fluid (sometimes longer, depending on what you eat/drink after the "event").

On top of that, as a "scientist" you should know that science is not a matter of just believing "the establishment".  You are not a special snowflake whose body works completely differently from everyone else's, and the only way you could have gained 2 pounds of fat would have been to have eaten about 7,000 extra calories in one day.  Two pieces of pizza and three beers sing 7,000 calories. Hell, I will even give you an allowance for a crappy metabolism and say that maybe it only takes an extra 2500 calories (instead of 3500) to gain two pounds.  The pizza and beef were NOT 5000 calories.

You can choose to believe whatever you want -- and do not misconstrue this response as me on any way promoting people eating wheat products, but IMO it is a disservice to the other people on the board to promote such unscientific... uh... stuff.

Lora

 

Go ahead and scream Laura.  I did and do often.  :)

It just kills me that it took 4 DAYS to get that excess weigh****er/whatever the hell it is off.  Four days.  

 

This experience is/was my pre-op experiences coming back. No way in hell I am going back to that ever.

If this is the way my body is going to react (and has reacted for years) I am not going down that road. Period.

 

I can't be the only one either.  Why else is there such a trend (especially in body building) for eating "clean"?

 

I think there is a *lot* that obesity/nutritional doesn't understand.

And my body *is* its own special animal. For example, if I eat a carb heavy diet for an extended period of time, I develop dark patches at my inner thigh, neck and arm pits. This is called Acanthosis nigricans.  So while everyone is enjoying bread and rice, I am working on a skin disorder.